Iowa is still the favorite, in both dual and tournament format.
Falck vs Clark- Kist gave Falck a good match last year and I would expect Clark to do the same. Clark does have a tendency to get out of position, but I think he keeps it to a regular decision. 3-0 UI
Dennis/Slaton vs. Fanthorpe- I don't know much about Dennis other than he must be talented enough to beat Slaton. I can't see Fanthorpe beating either if thats the case, at least not at Carver. He wasn't close to breaking Slaton down last year at nationals which makes it impossible for me to predict an ISU victory here. Should be close match. 6-0 UI
Tsirtsis/LeClere vs. Gallick- Gallick looked really good at nationals while Leclere went 0-2 BBQ. LeClere has beaten Gallick twice and Tsirtsis is a former AA. I'm going to give the edge to Gallick but this is a true toss-up. UI 6-3
Metcalf vs. Mueller- Metcalf is Metcalf and will win. It is only a matter of by how many. Most likely a major. UI 10-3
Ballweg vs. Sanderson- Putting Ballweg at 157 is a blow to Iowa's lineup. There is no way to deny that. Sanderson will be a heavy favorite and should be looking for bonus points because ISU will need them. UI 10-7
Morningstar vs. Reader- I can't wait to see this matchup. Morningstar has not lived up to Hawkeye fans' expectations, but that won't keep many of them from predicting him to win. He managed to pull a huge upset 2 years ago, but I don't see him sneaking up on Reader. Reader is too talented, but it will be close. Sanderson handled Morningstar a couple times last season which leads me to believe Reader can do the same. 10-10
Borschel vs Burk- Borschel is a stud and will be a contender for the NC in March. ISU is fortunate to pick up Burk as 174 was a weak spot last season. Duke will keep this close but Borschel is too good, especially in front of the home crowd. UI 13-10
Keddy vs. Ward- Ward has an ankle injury but Cael said he is good to go. Keddy is an animal that will feed off the energy of the meet. Ward better be ready to wrestle for seven minutes or he could get embarrassed. The freshman has talent, but I think he may be shellshocked at the intensity of the meet, especially if the score is as I predicted. Keddy gets the major UI 17-10
Beatty vs. Varner- Beatty may have bulked up, but he is still an inferior wrestler to Varner. Beatty's going to come out hard, guaranteed. If Varner can control the match early, he should win handily. If he allows Beatty to hang around, he could get beat. I can't see Varner losing this one and he may get bonus points, but it will most likely be a very Varner-like score of 5-2. UI 17-13
Erekson vs. Z- This will be a very close match that probably goes to OT like a lot of HWT matches. I think Z wins with experience.
Bonus points being the difference, UI wins 17-16.
That being said, anything can happen in this meet based on the rivalry aspect. That score seems reasonable, but probably won't be anything near the actual score. Most likely, there will be 2-3 matches that could go either way that will decide the meet.
